A/N: Wrote this in one day, surprising nowadays for me lol. This is also a spooky story which I think you all will love, because I personally loved writing it! Enjoy!
The new engine, Jinty, had return to Sodor to become the banker to Gordon's Hill. The engines were glad to have him and something new and Edward was teaching him well. Jinty was glad to be a North Western engine.
"You've worked on these rails, but when you're brought by them you feel like you're safer and protected and more... free!" said Jinty.
Winston smiled at this. "I understand how you feel," he agreed, "you feel you've become apart of this railway, or the railway has become apart of you."
Percy the Small Engine, was very excited. He hadn't seen Jinty in ages and was looking forward to their reunion. Thomas, on the other buffer, wasn't too keen. Last time, he had met Jinty, he had crashed into some buffers whilst showing off to him and was seen as a joke to the shunting engine when moving him away from them.
The tank engine didn't want to see him, but his timetable said otherwise with no trains coming or going at the junction until Jinty left with Percy's goods, and the small engine hadn't even arrived yet!
Thomas huffed in siding that morning. Wondering on how the conversation would turn out. At last, he heard an unrecognisable whistle, but he instantly knew that it was Jinty. The shunting engine arrived with a small goods, proud and happy, stopping on the line next to the platform track. He looked around, eyes seeming settled in a place of nostalgia. He looked over at Thomas and smiled.
"Ahhh, didn't recognise ya there pal," he joked, "you've changed your look! Gone to Thesang I presume with that livery?"
Thomas looked back, he had went to an island called Thesang to be overhauled there and had kept that livery ever since. The tank engine looked back at Jinty. "Yes I did," he replied simply, "I see you've stuck with the BR black though."
"Indeed I have," smiled Jinty proudly, "I'm proud of it! BR days weren't the best for every engine but they were a happy time for me back in Euston."
"Number fourteen too."
"Yep! Even though I like to keep my BR heritage, I decided to go with a sort of hybrid with the livery and have my North Western number on me instead!"
"Y'know we're still apart of the British Network," Thomas said appointedly.
"Yeah, I know," said Jinty, feeling the tension rising from the tank engine. "I'm just saying--"
"JINTY!!"
The conversation was immediately stopped by Percy who came to a screeching stop next to Jinty. "Percy!" the shunting engine grinned, "how have you been buddy?"
"Much better now! Thomas kept on going about you with you taking his trains over him instead."
Thomas went red and huffed crossly in his siding. Jinty smirked widely at the tank engine. "Did he now?" he said, "I'm guessing he's thinking about how good I am that I could replace him on this line."
Thomas gritted his teeth.
"I'm guessing that's fair," Jinty continued, "probably because he doesn't know how to stop at stations. Or anywhere in that matter!"
He then paused and looked to one of the sides of Thomas' face, a long, dark scar going down him from his forehead, to the side of his eye. "And there's proof with that scar too!" he laughed.
Thomas immediately wheeshed steam crossly, Percy gasped in surprised, Jinty just kept on staring at the tank engine. He knew by Percy's reaction he might've gone a step too far, but it was too late now. Thomas glared, wide-eyed at the shunting engine. "You want to go?" he asked darkly.
"Want a scrap?" replied Jinty.
"Of course an engine from London with a cockney accent says that violence is always the solution," Thomas sneered, "no, I'm talking about you and I doing a competition. We give each other a task to do and once we've done, we give the other a different task to do. The one how succeeds the most in these tasks is the better engine and has bragging rights throughout the remainder of our lives. How's that?"
Jinty blinked, surprised at what he had heard. But Thomas looked stern. He huffed, looked at Percy, then back at the tank engine, with a short huff like chuckle. "Alright mate," he smirked confidently, "who goes first?"
"I say you," Thomas replied, "try pushing your trucks back to Wellsworth without no consequence."
"Easy," Jinty agreed.
"Right," said Thomas, "now please excuse me, I'm going to those sidings on the other side of the station, so I don't get ganged up on!"
He then puffed off, leaving a confident Jinty and a very worried Percy. "You shouldn't have made that remark," said Percy.
"Why?" asked Jinty, "he had an accident didn't he? Probably smashed into a brake van and it's roof made the cut when he went flying!"
"No."
Jinty raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean; no?"
Percy sighed. "No one knows what happened to Thomas," he explained, "what did he look like back when you first met him?"
"Well..." pondered Jinty, "he had a different paintjob back then, like that Gordon chap. And his running board was much different, it's much flatter and he has a splasher and his tanks are much lower... and then there's that scar he got so wound up about."
"Well... there's a reason for all those changes."
Jinty looked at Percy, urging him to continue, he did. "In 1961, strange incidents and odd occurrences began to happen. Thomas and Duck were the only ones to take action on these... they eventually formed a friendship from this and one night, decide to go to a facility further up north, so they can get answers from an organisation called Sodor Research. But major events happen that night that I don't entirely know of, but to put it simply, our own private military, Sodor Royal Forces planned a secret raid on the facility, but the facility got blown up and Thomas got majorly damaged through all of it. So much so, that he had to go to Thesang for his repairs, it took them four years..."
Jinty gawked at Percy's explanation. "That sounds... well..."
"It's not very pleasant," said Percy sadly, "Thomas never likes talking about that night with us, whenever we mention it or his... scar he'd just go all dark and weird and have a grudge on you for an entire week without no boundaries whatsoever on his temper on you."
Jinty sighed. "I didn't think that."
"No one does," said Percy, he looked back at his reunited friend, "take care with Thomas."
Jinty hummed an agreement.
*
The set of challenges were instantly a challenge for both tank engines. Throughout the month, they gave each other challenges, neither wanted to be defeated by the other and were determined to be the better engine.
Sometimes, one would succeed on their challenge, sometimes not.
But eventually, they too were getting fed up with it. Neither giving up and both were neck and neck.
One afternoon, just after lunch, Thomas arrived at Edward's station with a train of trucks, with Annie and Clarabel at the back of the train. Jinty watched as Thomas came in with a grumpy look. "Tadaaa," said Thomas sarcastically, "did that. Now, it's my turn."
"No. No. No, said Thomas' driver, "I've had it! We've been questioned by staff and even had to go to the Fat Controller's office to deal with this! I ain't doing one more of these challenges!"
"I agree with him!" Jinty's driver added, "we've been doing this constantly throughout the month and you're both drawing at the moment! You both ain't getting anywhere!"
Both tank engines looked at each other. "Then shall we do then?" asked Jinty curiously.
Thomas pondered for a moment. "I think," he said, "that we need to do a final challenge, together, but not with our strengths through physicality, but our strengths through mentality."
"So what are you saying?" asked Jinty.
"Isn't there that new smelter and scrapyard between here and Suddery?" quizzed Thomas curiously.
"Well... yeah," Jinty replied, "but no one is allowed down there apart from Edward and BoCo."
"Exactly," said Thomas, "there could be something down there, must be terrifying, could give us a challenge."
"Are you saying that, we should go down that line, and whoever gets scared first loses completely?"
"That's my proposition," said Thomas, "but if you have a better way to solve this, then talk away!"
Jinty thought for a second, then sighed. "Alright then," he said, "I'll do it."
"Good," said Thomas, "we'll do it tonight."
"Do what tonight?"
Thomas and Jinty turned to see Edward come up to them. "Oh..." said Thomas.
"We were talking about Thomas coming to the docks with me tonight," said Jinty quickly, "help me with some shunting there."
"Salty is over there though," said Edward, suspicious.
"I've asked Salty, he said he's happy for the break!" said Jinty, "besides, I'm sure you're not too worried about us, aren't you."
"You know us Edward," said Thomas, "we aren't like Bill and Ben."
Edward hummed quietly. "Wait a second!" he snapped, glaring at Thomas.
The tank engine tensed up. "Why are Annie and Clarabel on the back of your train?" Edward asked.
"Oh," Thomas looked back meekly, "they wanted to travel somewhere different today, told them it wasn't going to be a pleasant ride."
Edward took a deep breath and sighed. "Tank engines at this day and age," he said, exhausted and puffed away to the turntable.
Thomas and Jinty looked at each other, and smirked.
*
Both engines met at the yards close to midnight, Edward and BoCo were asleep by then and Sodor was as quiet as ever.
Both engines crept away, down the line towards the smelter and scrapyard. When both engines got to the points, Jinty's confidence was beginning to dwindle. "I don't think we should do this anymore Thomas," he advised.
Thomas only sniffed. "Want to back out already Jinty?" he said cheekily, "and we haven't even got onto the line yet."
Jinty said no more, and once the points were set, both engines puffed down the singular track. It was quite narrow the cutting was, Thomas wondered how BoCo could even fit through here, whilst Jinty looked nervously up, dark, black trees were above the cutting, trying to cover the night sky, it made the track feel like a tunnel made by nature, trying to take man-made, living engines away.
At last, they arrived at a gate, luckily, it was open and Thomas puffed slowly in, with Jinty following close behind. The engines puffed slowly through the cold and dark place. Trucks laid everywhere, barely arranged neatly and in random positions such as empties being in between loaded ones.
There were more flatbeds than anything, with rusty, old parts of any kind littered on top. But what made it worse was what was littered all around the ground. There, next to the line side, were not just parts, but old cars and engine boilers. Faces ripped off or white as ghosts. Jinty felt uncomfortable and not well at all. He had only been in a scrap siding and hadn't gone anywhere near a scrapyard... until now. He could only imagine the engines who were sent to places like these, and meet their ends like this. It was awful.
Meanwhile Thomas, was grumbling to himself. He was secretly having the same thoughts and feelings as Jinty, but didn't want to let on by it.
They both wondered the yards, they were emotionally drained by the end of it. They both agreed to head back to Wellsworth and see how much sleep they could get after this. But then, Thomas notice the biggest building of them all. A massive smelting shed stood above the rest of the smaller buildings, its orange and red light flickering from inside and machines being heard also. Devouring metal of any kind.
"Why don't we go in there," said Thomas, coming to halt, and heading over to the shed. Jinty quickly stopped and followed Thomas all the way to the shed doors. Both on individual tracks now and when the giant, hard doors opened, they looked inside the smelting shed. Heaps of metal laid all around the place and it was incredibly hotter from the outside world with sparks flying everywhere, a controlling station put next to the lines and a giant claw like machine hung above the tracks.
Jinty gulped as sparks flew from the ceiling's wiring.
Thomas sniffed. He didn't like either, but he didn't want to lose. "I'll go first!" he said, and move slowly forward and into the shed. His crew didn't like this.
"We should go back," his driver told his engine, as they went under the giant claw.
"Pah!" Thomas said, "I'm not going to be defeated like this! Besides, it's only a shed, what's it going to do?"
The shed was long, and the red fumes made it impossible to see the end of the shed. Thomas went through it and disappeared. Jinty peered through and tried to see the tank engine. But nothing could be seen.
At first their was silence.
Then a loud yell could be heard, echoing through the shed. Jinty's eyes widen, as Thomas reappeared through the red mist. He was going at an incredible speed and his wheels pounded the rails like never before. He was frantic.
"RUN!! GET AWAY!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!! NOT AGAIN!!!!!" he cried out loud and ran past Jinty. The shunting engine didn't even question it, he didn't want to stay here any longer and darted off right behind Thomas without looking further inside the shed again.
Both engines raced away from the smelter land scrapyards, one crying out and in absolute terror and the other panting with panic within his breath.
*
The yards at Wellsworth were silent, Edward and BoCo were fast asleep. Getting their rest for another busy day for tomorrow. Then, both engines woke up from the sounds of screaming and whistling, and Thomas, raced through, not looking out for anything and was diverted onto the goods loop and then onto the mainline, racing away as fast as he could, still yelling pleads of mercy.
Then, Jinty came next, he braked hard and came to a stop. He panted hard, trying to get his breath back from running for dear life and almost having a panic attack. He eventually did and sighed deeply.
"Jinty!" called a stern voice.
The shunting engine stopped and looked back nervously to the sheds. "Errrrm... yes, Edward? Can I help you?"
"Ask me this," said Edward sharply, he sounded almost furious, "did you and Thomas go to the smelters yard?"
Jinty said nothing, he only looked at his buffers in shame. Even though he couldn't be seen from either Edward's and BoCo's point of view. The blue engine groaned mournfully.
"This is not a good sign at all," he said to BoCo.
Jinty glanced back. "What do you mean? Not a good sign?" he questioned, "do you know what Thomas saw?"
Edward paused for a second, he then sighed. "Guess you didn't see what Thomas saw then."
"No. No I didn't."
"Good," said BoCo crossly, "because you weren't meant to see it anyways. The Fat Controller will be hearing about this!"
Jinty said no more, he only closed his eyes, and tried thinking of any of the beautiful places on Sodor, that wasn't the smelters yard.
*
Thomas kept on running all the way to Tidmouth yards in where the driver after much attempt, manage to stop his engine just before reaching the harbour. He stayed there all night, crying and was greeted by a very angry Fat Controller.
"What were you doing at the smelters yard near Suddery with Jinty last night?!!" he thundered.
Thomas still trying to recovered, tried to assembled words. "Well-I-J-J-Jint-Jinty-a-and-I-Well-I-Ur—"
The Fat Controller sighed, realising how bad the situation was now. "This must be very hard for you," he said,but you must understand—"
"I c-can't, s-s-sir," stammered Thomas, his lip trembling and his eyes, still shaking with fear.
The Fat Controller nodded and patted him on the buffer. "I completely understand your reasons," he said calmly, "I'll give you time to recover from this awful shock you have. The others can manage. But don't think you'll be getting away with a punishment anytime soon."
And he left Thomas alone in the yards, still trembling from the night's awful shock.
But I shan't say anymore, otherwise I'll spoil the stories that are to follow.
